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True Avian
Auroran, Aviard, Darklin, Glacian, and Phoenix The term Avian describes several related races native to Greyhawke of a highly magical nature. All are 7 foot plus bird like humanoids. They have both wings and hands, the wings being three times as long as the Avian is tall. The head is that of a large bird of prey, with a hooked black beak and large round eyes. The whole body is feathered except the hands and taloned feet. Color varies from race to race. The known races of the Avian kind are the Auroran, Aviard, Darklin, Glacian, and Phoenix (sometimes called the Greater Phoenix). Others are assumed or suggested, but none are confirmed. Most information here was gleaned from various Greyhawken sources and has yet to be confirmed by empirical data. Only the Phoenix has been encountered on Earth. Greyhawke Sources The Avians were created by Silalata Tommie to protect the First Children. He created the original Avians now known as the Three Brothers, the first of their kind. The original creation was of the Aviard, Glacian, and Phoenix only. The other races were created by additional magic or cross breeding. It is also held that the shame of the race, bloodlust and the taste for human meat, were the work of Morchaint Mormiron, the dark twin of the Lord of Light. He was jealous of his brother's creation and corrupted them before they where finished. Both Elven and Avian lore hold that this act, called "The Third Shame" was the cause of the battle that took both gods out of the picture for almost a million years. Avians are friendly with any people that are friendly with them. They favor Elves, and have a special relationship with Pegasi. No Avian, no matter how hungry, will eat a Pegasus, and they will go out of their way to aid the creatures. Likewise, a Pegasus will not attack an Avian, and will aid them as mounts if asked. Orcs are the one exception to Avian tolerance. Any Orcs found by an Avian will be driven out and killed as quickly as possible. They will not be eaten. All varieties of Avian have a connection to one of the elemental planes as well as the positive material plane. This connection is responsible for the "cycle", the Avian's name for the regenerative process. Killing an Avian is not an end to the creature. As legend suggests the Avian is able to regenerate itself from the state of death. An Avian killed by mundane means will burst into a display of the element it is connected to with an explosive force. The older the Avian the greater the radius of the burst (10'/cycle) and the damage sustained by those in its area (1d6/cycle). The result of this elemental burst is an 8" diameter translucent gold ball, commonly called an egg. The Avian will emerge whole and unharmed from this "egg" at the next dawn. A number of attack forms will keep an Avian from "cycling". If an Avian is killed by death magic (death spell, power word kill, cause death, etc.) they will not form an egg. A raise dead or resurrection spell will allow the dead Avian to cycle, provided a Fort saving throw is made. Should the saving throw fail, nothing can raise them. An Avian can not abide its elemental weakness. If killed by its bane they will not cycle. However, they can be revived with spells, provided the saving throw is made. If the soul of an Avian is magic jarred, the body will not cycle if killed. In this case there is no way to raise them short of a wish. If an Avian in the egg form is trapped in an environment inhospitable to life (the bottom of a lake or buried in rocks) that the force of exit will not clear they will go dormant. They will remain in the egg until conditions change. The danger in this is the mind remains aware. While they will not go insane in their own egg they can lose interest in living. Should this happen the Avian will not revive but the result of the cycle, when it comes, will be ashes. In this case no power in mortal hands can recover them. The Avians also have a form of immolation, each according to its element. This can be used for protection from their bane, or offensively against enemies. Avians are fully feathered and do not wear clothing save for carrying harnesses and belts. Striped of their feathers they are embarrassed to the point that they cannot function in society and will hide themselves away until the feathers grow back. A full suit of flight feathers is vital to an Avian's survival. Deprived of the ability to fly, many Avians will commit suicide to cycle so as to regain a full set of feathers. Avians like a lot of room. They want to be able to swing those big wings they have. Avians prefer conversational distance outside their wing sweep. They don't get too creeped out if they can't have this, but if they feel trapped, or unable to leave such a situation they can and do suffer from claustrophobia. Avian Life An Avian is born live after a three month gestation, with one to four young per birth. They weigh one to two pounds at birth, and are little more than down-covered appetites for the first six months. These darling, cute critters must be taught what is food and who is not. They otherwise assume that everything not beaked and feathered is food and act accordingly. Young Avians are not a mortal threat to the adult of any race, but the talons and beaks are sharp and do hurt. Young children are not introduced to society that isn't Avian itself. It's not nice to eat your guests. Children receive special care in Avian society. Children under three years of age do not have the elemental connection, and cannot cycle as can adults. However, they do possess all the weakness of the adults. Avian parents are very protective of their little ones. At the age of three years a young Avian has reached physical maturity. They are possessed of adult plumage, height and sexual maturity. The last hurdle is the process known as Maturity Crisis. At this time the connection to the Elemental Plane is completed, and the Avian can immolate and cycle. Only one thing keeps this from being a time looked forward to. Nearly a fourth of the young do not survive crisis. Once passed the crisis it is said that If not killed in the first hundred years, they could live forever. While their mental progress is faster in early years than humans, they are by no means adults in learning or temperament at this age. A three year old Avian has the Mentation of an 8 year old Human. The young Avian, while the physical equal to their parents in height and appearance is not an adult in the mind. Indeed, training of the mind is only beginning. Most Avian children do not get much education beyond basic survival skills before the third year. It is a pragmatic approach perhaps, but practical and common. Avians are also capable of having children from the third year, but Avian fertility has to be thought about. Unlike other races an Avian is infertile unless they willingly desire to be fertile. Even then it takes days of willful desire for the body to come up to speed, for the female to become receptive to pregnancy and the male to produce sperm. "Accidental children" are an impossibility. Both males and females share this trait. Both partners must be in accord with their desire to breed for children to happen. Sexual desire is not tied to a fertile state and Avians enjoy an active libido. Sexual exploration is not discouraged, even among siblings. Children commonly stay with their parent for two to three decades. They learn what they can, or even a profession before setting out to explore what life and the world has to offer. The Avian family typically consists of a single male and female, and the current brood of children, if any. In areas where game is plentiful more than one couple may share living spaces to ensure the safety of the young. Being long lived creatures that are fertile for centuries the Avian does not recognize the generations that shorter lived races do. The only term for relatives, out side of the nuclear family, that the Avian language has is "chia", a term meaning everyone in you greater family except parents and siblings. Mates do not typically join for life. A marriage may last for centuries, or only as long as it takes to raise a single brood. Such marriages are also not exclusive. Avians show little if any jealousy in the matter of personal relationships. Multiple spouse groupings form naturally when game will support it, and break up without rancor when it will not. What the Avian does, and where they go after they leave home is entirely up to them. The Avian people are widely spread, only in cities where food is brought in, and one does not have to depend on hunting will you find more than a few. There are never enough Avians to form a true community. What an Avian does with their life is often driven by what kind of Avian they are, the created imperatives will rule all of them to one degree or another. None need practice any profession. Shelter can be found in the rocks, food in the wild. They can, if they choose, live comfortably as hunters, and many do. As a rule Avians are a tolerant and patient lot. An Avian is willing to get along with just about anyone, until crossed. Type "A" personalities are less common than type "B". Due to their long life expectancy Avians make plans that will not mature for decades or even centuries. They are amused but tolerant of the foibles and hurry of less long lived races, conversely when promptness is necessary they waste no time. A young Avian will be as brash and naively confident of themselves as any young person. Older Avians are more certain of themselves they waste little if any energy on unnecessary movement. A youngster will bounce about even when resting. When an old Avian sits still, they are still. This is often the only way to tell a youth from their more mature chia. Encounters between Avians of different races can be anything from a greeting of old friends to combat for hunting territory, an old grudge, or simply to see who is the better flier. Avians are seemingly fearless in combat with each other. Immolation attacks are not used in these fights, so the worse that can happen is the loser gets pranged, and waits out the night in egg form. The two exceptions to this policy and culture of tolerance are the Avian shames, Bloodlust, and "the taste". All Avians have a breaking point. A point beyond which temper is not the proper word. All they see is red, and all they want is to kill. Avians call this "Bloodlust", and are not willing to discuss the matter much with non-avians. Exhaustion or death are the only means of stopping this rage. The second is "the taste". Built into every Avian of the blood is a preference for Human flesh. They like it, if given a chance they will eat it, in preference to other meat. The attraction is like catnip to the cat, but without the drunken antics. This born addiction is fought with varying levels of success in every Avian. It is a shame to them, and again, not a matter discussed with non-avians. An Avian will Cycle every one hundred years. This is a complete renewal of the mental and physical being. As they approach their 95th year, signs of age begin to show. The Avian slows down, looses interest in mates, or any projects they might be working on. Near the end of their 99th year they lose their appetite, and refuse to eat. Within seven days of this the Avian will cycle. The process is much like that of death renewal, but is brought on by age rather than damage. The Avian will remain within the egg for three days, rising on the dawn of the third day. The Avian will rise with his spirit and body renewed, rejuvenated, yet remembering everything from past cycles. In rare cases an Avian does not recover from the cycle. They are beyond tired in spirit, or feel they have seen all life has to offer. In these cases the outward cycle will leave only a pile of ash. While comrades and acquaintances might mourn, it is accepted, because it is always a willing choice. Due to the explosive nature of the cycle, Avians build special structures to hold their eggs. Commonly call "Egg Holds" the building will be secure, and capable of venting the elemental blast that accompanies the cycle. They are usually round and bowl shaped on the inside, with louvers in the roof. Avian Politics An Avian's involvement in politics will always involve other races. There are not enough Avians to form political groups larger than a family, and generally the families are too far apart for "political" interaction. A feud over hunting territory would be the extent of it. This is not to say that Avians are apolitical. However, each reacts and behaves according to created imperatives. *'Auroran:' This Avian race was not one of the original created. As a result they have no "created imperative". They are about as apolitical as an Avian gets. Their Element is Light *'Aviard:' The Aviards were created to be guardians and protectors. They are followers rather than leaders. An Aviard will maintain his own council in most matters. They are not forward with their opinions. Make no mistake however they do have them. If asked, or pushed by what they consider foolishness, they will speak their mind. They are loyal to the extreme. Once you have won the trust, of an Aviard, you have a friend for life. Break that trust, and they will eat you. They take the long view, as would any race that can live for millennium. Their Element is Air *'Darklin:' Like the Aurorans the Darklin is a new type of Avian without a created political agenda. Their Element is Darkness *'Glacians:' Glacians are the most retiring of the original Avian races. They much prefer the company of their own kind, or of those that share their interest in preserving history. Once you have found one however, they are not private in their opinions. They are more than willing to dredge through countless millennium of experiences, their own and others, to advise you on what course of action to take. They will tell you why what you are doing is wrong, or what you can do to improve a right idea. Their Element is Cold *'Phoenix:' Phoenixes have the imperative to rule humans or other races. They have a need to act as a guide to such races. They were created to properly channel the creative urges of Humans and their kin. A Phoenix will want to take the role of leader in any group. Those with wisdom will defer to greater ability, as long as their voice will be heard. Even if they are not paramount in a group a Phoenix will seek to influence others toward the longer view. Many Phoenixes serve as rulers in various countries, or as major players within the rule of another Phoenix. Their Element is Fire Avian Art Avians are not great producers or art or even of culture. While there have been Avian artists of note, even of fame, producing art is not an Avian imperative. An Avian will more likely be found as a patron of art or of an artist. Race has little to do with who will be supported, or what art form will be patronized. Personal taste is all that will matter. Avian Religion An Avian is respectful of the Elven races, or any person of Fay nature. Avians also hold reverent the memory of the Three Brothers, the prototypes of the original Avian races. The elders of the race are likewise held up for worship and respect. These include Abba Eecreeana, Tesral, Ivan, and Kiree to name the principal gods. Bureau File As mentioned the Phoenix has been the only Avian type encountered. The general rules for all Outsider contact in in force with Avains. They are not considered any more or less dangerous that other outsiders. Make all reasonable attempts to keep encounters non-hostile. Keep in mind that unless killed in very specific ways Avians die violently, very violently. Depending on the age this can be harmful to civilians and property. The two examples known the first a young woman killed two people can caused extensive damage, the second a much older male had the effect of a fuel/air bomb that devastated a 1000 yard area. Stun, do not use deadly force on Avains, half Avians or even large birds to be safe. Category:Outsiders Category:Supernatural Category:Greyhawke Category:Greyhawke Races Category:Bureau 13